a
YUNIBESITI VA BOKONE-BOPHIRIMAD
NORTH WEST UNIVERSITYNOORDWES UNIVERSITEIT
A SOUTH AFRICAN STUDY OF CONSUMERS'
PERCEPTIONS OF TEXTILE LABELS AND
THEIR CONSEQUENT PURCHASING
BEHAVIOUR
P. MAQALlKA-MOKOBORI
BSc (Home Econ. Ed: UNISW A)
A mini-dissertation submitted in the School of Physiology,
Nutrition and Consumer Sciences at the North-West University,
Potchefstroom campus, in partial fulfilment of a
Masters degree in Consumer Sciences
Supervisor : Mrs M. Larney Co-supervisor: Mrs M.D. Venter
2005
North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus)
.
...
. .*
DEDICATIONS
This study is dedicated to my nuclear family; my husband Thabiso who once again acted the two
roles of a father and that of a mother in my absence as I pursued my studies; my daughter
Ts'episo [9], who always asked me to pass so that I could be a better mother; my son Thabelo [6], who always told me of his dream when I do not have to go to school anymore.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I hereby acknowledge the professional guidance of my supervisor Mrs M. Larney and co- supervisor Mrs Venter during this study. Secondly I wish to thank Dr E. Kempen for her assistance in marshalling up the necessary resources for this piece of work to be carried out. Lastly I would like to direct my special thanks to Professor A. M. van Aardt for dedicating her precious time and the professional assistance she gave. All the above are from the North-West University in the school of Physiology, Nutrition and Consumer Sciences. The list of professionals who contributed in this study would not be complete without mentioning Dr R. Rutengwe, the research fellow at the Vaal University of Technology. He was a personal mentor, friend and advisor, for his professional guidance.
I also acknowledge heartily my wonderhl husband Mr Thabiso Mokobori for sparing his secretarial skills, financial support, time for brainstorming as well as the unfailing moral encouragement right through, especially during difficult times. Secondly I pay tribute to my son and daughter who always inspired me whenever I relapsed at home.
I cannot complete the list without mentioning my appreciation to the following professional educationists both at school where I worked as a teacher and those around in our environment: My headmaster, Mr K. T. Chimombe; Ms T. 'Metso; Mr Makhetha and his wife; Mrs M. Monaheng and Mrs Motlomelo. Their words of encouragement had a lot of impact in my research study. By the same note I express my thanks to my friends and colleagues who do not appear in this list. All of these people's efforts and assistance they individually contributed did not go unnoticed.
SUMMARY
Background and motivation
Consumers are faced with choices of textile products on the market every day, and it should be determined whether labels, being a major source of information at the point of sale, assist consumers in their decision making. Regarding the concept of labelling, the nature of a typical textile label was defined and the information to be included in a label was identified as the size of the product, care instructions, fibre content, country of origin, name of the manufacturer and the brand name. It was discovered from literature that consumer behaviour is influenced by the external factors and determined by the internal factors such as personality and self-concept, attitudes, perceptions, motivation and involvement, memory and learning and emotions. The aim of the study was to explore consumers' awareness and perceptions of textile product labelling and to determine the extent to which the consumers use the information on the textile product label when making decisions on or purchasing textile goods.
Methodology
As very little is known about this phenomenon regarding the South African consumer, a qualitative, explorative, descriptive research strategy was followed. Focus groups were used for data collection and participants were selected by purposive sampling so that only the knowledgeable consumer with reference to the textile label was included. The research was made trustworthy by using the purposive sampling, and conducting a pilot test before data collection. In addition, peers and study leaders monitored all the processes of the research. Data were analysed using a qualitative thematic research analysis method. Identified themes and concepts were then discussed under the pre-determined categories of awareness, perceptions and the influence each of these themes has on the decision-making process when purchasing textile products.
Results and discussions
The results revealed that the consumers were very aware of the existence of a label, they were even able to define it, and they could identify it in a number of ways. Consumers were also aware of the type of information provided by the textile product labels. The perceptions that the consumers have about the information found on the label and the nature of the label are discussed at length in the text. It was discovered that textile labels do influence the decision-making process
of the consumers when purchasing textile products and the information on size is the most important to consumers.
OPSOMMING
Agtergrond en motivering
Verbruikers moet daagliks keuses maak oor tekstielprodukte wat in die handel verkrygbaar is en daar behoort vagestel te word of etikette, wat een van die belangrikste inligtingsbronne by die verkoopspunt is, die verbruiker in die besluitnemingsproses help. Volgens die literatuur word verbruikersgedrag deur eksterne faktore en interne determinante soos persoonlikheid en selfkonsep, houdings, persepsies, motivering en betrokkenheid, geheue en leer en emosies bei'nvloed. Die doel van die studie was om die verbruiker se bewustheid en persepsies van tekstielproduketikette te ondersoek en om te bepaal in watter mate die verbruiker hierdie inligting gebruik tydens die besluit om tekstielware te koop. Afgesien van die konsep van etikettering, is die tipiese etiket gedefinieer en die inligting wat op die etiket moet verskyn is geldentifiseer as die grootte van die produk, versorgingsaanwysings, veselinhoud, land van oorsprong, die naam van die vervaardiger en die handelsmerk.
Metodologie
Aangesien daar baie min oor hierdie fenomeen rakende die Suid-Afrikaanse verbruiker bekend is, is 'n kwalitatiewe, verkennende, beskrywende navorsingstrategie gevolg. Om die data te versamel is daar van fokusgroepe gebruik gemaak en die deelnemers is doelbewus uit ingeligte verbruikers rakende tekstieletikettering gekies. Deur van genoemde steekproef gebruik te maak en 'n loodsstudie te doen, is daar gepoog om die navorsing geloofwaardig te maak. Verder is dit met literatuur geverifieer en medestudente en studieleiers het die navorsingsprosedure gemonitor. Data is volgens 'n kwalitatiewe tematiese analisemetode ontleed. Die temas en konsepte is onder voorafbepaalde kategoriee van bewuswording, persepsies en die invloed wat hierdie temas op die besluitnemingsproses tydens die aankoop van tekstielprodukte het, bespreek.
Resultate en bespreking
Die resultate het onthul dat verbruikers baie bewus van die bestaan van etikette is, dit kan definieer en verskillende tipes kan identifiseer. Verbruikers is ook bewus van die inligting wat deur die tekstielproduketiket verskaf word. Die persepsies wat die verbruikers oor die aard van en die inligting op die tekstielproduketiket het, word volledig in die teks bespreek. Daar is bevind dat die verbruiker tydens die besluitnemingsproses by die aankope van tekstielprodukte deur die
etiket bei'nvloed word en dat die inligting rakende die grootte van die tekstielproduk die belangrikste vir die verbruiker is.
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
...
DEDICATIONS.. .i...
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.. ii...
SUMMARY.....
111...
OPSOMMING.. .iv TABLE OF CONTENTS...
vLIST OF FIGURES..
...
.xii...
LIST OF TABLES...
xlii LIST OF ANNEXURE...
xivLIST OF ABREVIATIONS
...
xvCHAPTER 1: Introduction
...
1... 1.1 Background and setting.. 1
1.2 The problem statement.
...
31.3 Objectives of the study
...
41.4 The conceptual framework..
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41.5 Contextual definition of terms..
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.61.6 Strategy..
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..71.7 Chapter layout..
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71.8 Significance of the study..
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71.9 Contribution of article authors ... 8
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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 12
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2.1 Introduction 12
Literature section 1: Consumer behaviour and decision making process
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2.2 Consumer behaviour 12
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2.2.1 lnternal determinants of consumer behaviour 15
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2.2.1.1 Personality 15
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2.2.1.2 Attitudes and consumer behaviour 16
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2.2.1.3 Consumer perception 18
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2.2.1.4 Motivation -21
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2.2.1.5 Learning and memory 22
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2.2.1.6 Decision-making 23
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2.3 Literature section 2: The concept of labelling 24
... 2.3.1 Fibre content 25
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. 2 3.2 Manufacturer's name 26...
2.3.3 Country of origin 26 ... 2.3.4 Care instructions 26...
2.3.5 Labelling acts and regulation in textile products 30
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2.3.6 The brand names -30
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2.3.7 Key issues in textile labelling 32
REFERENCES
...
33...
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 36...
3.1 Overview 36...
3.2 Research design 36 3.3 Ethical consideration...
37 3.4 Subject selection...
38 3.5 Recruitment...
39...
3.6 Measures for ensuring trustworthiness 39
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3.7 Data collection 40
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3.7.1 Conducting focus group discussions 40
3.7.2 Data analysis
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41 REFERENCE...
43...
CHAPTER 4: RESULT PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSIONS 45
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Introduction 45
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4.1 Objective 1: Awareness 46
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4.1.1 Theme 1: Nature of the label 46
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4.1.1.1 Concept 1 : Attachment of a textile label 46
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4.1.1.2 Concept 2: Form of identification 47
4.1.2 Theme 2: Information provided by the label
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47...
4.1.2.1 Concept 1 : Importance of information 47
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4.1.2.2 Concept 2: Size 48
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4.1.2.3 Concept 3: Fibre content 48
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4.1.2.4 Concept 4: Country of origin 49
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4.1.2.5 Concept 5: Care instructions 49
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4.1.2.6 Concept 6: Name of the manufacturer 50
4.2 Objective 2: Consumer perceptions about textile labels
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50 4.2.1 Category 1: Perceptions of the consumers about the nature of the label...
51 4.2.1.1 Theme 1: Legibility...
51...
4.2.1.1.1 Concept 1 : Fading 51
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4.2.1.1.2 Concept 2: Colour of the label 51
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4.2.1.1.3 Concept 3: Font size 52
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4.2.1.1.4 Concept 4: Dimensions of the label 52
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4.2.1.1.5 Concept 5: The symbols used 52
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4.2.1.2 Theme 2: Type of label 53
4.2.1.2.1 Concept 1 : Fibre content of the label
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53 ...4.2.1.2.2 Concept 2: Construction of the label 54
4.2.1.3 Theme 3: Position of the label
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55...
4.2.1.3.1 Concept 1 : Visibility 55
4.2.1.3.2 Concept 2: Consistency in positioning
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56...
4.2.1.3.3 Concept 3: Actual placement 56
4.2.1.4 Theme 4: Label as object of irritation ... 56
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4.2.1.4.1 Concept 1 : Scratching 56
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4.2.2 Category 2: Consumer perceptions about the information on the label 57
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4.2.2.1Theme 1: Size of the product 57
. . ...
4.2.2.1.1 Concept 1 : Standardisatlon S 7
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4.2.2.1.2 Concept 2: Range of measurements 58
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4.2.2.1.3 Concept 3: Size indication -59
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4.2.2.2 Theme 2: Fibre content 59
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4.2.2.2.1 Concept 1 : Resilience 59
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4.2.2.2.2 Concept 2: Absorbency 60
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4.2.2.2.3 Concept 3: Effects of heat -60
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4.2.2.2.4 Concept 4: Allergenic potential 61
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4.2.2.2.5 Concept 5: Quality 61
4.2.2.3 Theme 3: Country of origin
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62...
4.2.2.3.1 Concept 1 : Indication of quality 62
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4.2.2.3.2 Concept 2: Credibility 64
4.2.2.4 Theme 4: Care instructions
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64 ...4.2.2.4.1 Concept 1 : Importance 64
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4.2.2.4.2 Concept 2: Special information 66
4.2.2.5 Theme 5: Name of the manufacturer and brand name
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66...
4.2.2.5.1 Concept 1 : The manufacturer 66
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4.2.2.5.2 Concept 2: Brand name as identification of the product 67
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4.2.2.5.3 Concept 3: Brand name as symbol of status 67
4.4 Objective 3: The influence information on the label has on consumers' purchasing behaviour
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68 4.4.1 Theme 1: Information...
68...
4.4.1.1 Concept 1 : Size 68
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4.4.1.2 Concept 2: Fibre content 69
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4.4.1.3 Concept 3: Country of origin 70
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4.4.1.4 Concept 4: Care instructions 70
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CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY. CONCLUSIONS RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE ARTICLE
...
74...
5.1 Summary 74 5.1.1 Introduction ... 74...
5.1.2 Literature review 74 5.1.3 Methodology...
74 5.1.4 Results and discussions...
75...
5.2 Conclusions 75
5.2.1 Objective 1 : Consumer awareness about the textile product labelling
...
75 ... 5.2.2 Objective 2: Consumer perceptions about textile product labels 75 5.2.3 Objective 3: Influence of the textile product labels when making purchasing decision...
76...
5.2.4 General conclusions 77...
5.3 Limitations 77...
5.4 Recommendations 78...
5.4.1 Recommendations for action 78
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5.4.2 Recommendations for further study 78
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REFERENCES 79...
THE ARTICLE 81...
Abstract 83...
Background and orientation 84
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The problem statement and research objectives 85
... Literature review 85
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Consumer behaviour 86...
Perceptions 87. .
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Dec~s~on making 87...
Issues of textile labelling 87
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A textile label 87
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Research design and methods 87
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Sampling 88...
Recruiting 89...
Ethical consideration 90...
Data collection 90...
Venue and time 90
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Measures of trustworthiness 91
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Data analysis 91
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Results discussion and literature control 92
Objective 1 : Awareness of the label
...
92Theme 1: The nature of the textile product label
...
92...
Concept 1 : Attachment of the label to the products 92...
Concept 2: Form of identification 92 Theme 2: Information provided by the label...
93Concept 1 : Importance of information ... 93
...
Concept 2: Size 93...
Concept 3: Fibre content 93 Concept 4: Country of origin ... 93...
Concept 5: Care instructions 93 Concept 6: Name of the manufacturer and brand name...
94Objective 2: Consumers' perceptions about the label
...
94General perceptions about the nature of the label
...
94Theme 1: Legibility
...
94...
Concept 1 : Fading 94...
Concept 2: Colour of the label 95...
Concept 3: Font size used on the label 95...
Concept 4: Dimensions of the label 95 Concept 5: Symbols use on the labels...
95Theme 2 Type of the label
...
95...
Concept 1 : Fibre content 95...
Concept 2: Construction of a label 96...
Theme 3: Positioning of the label 96...
Concept 1 : Visibility 96...
Concept 2: Consistency in positioning 96 Theme 4: Label as object of irritation...
96Perceptions about the information found on the label
...
97Theme 1: Size of product
...
97Concept 1 : Standardisation
...
97...
Concept 2: Range of measurements 97 Concept 3: Size indication...
97Theme 2: Fibre content
...
97Concept 1 : Resiliency
...
97Concept 2: Absorbency
...
98Concept 3: Effects of heat
...
98Concept 4: Allergenic potential ... 98
Concept 5: Quality
...
98Theme 3: Country of origin
...
99Concept 1 : Indication of quality ... 99
Concept 2: Credibility
...
99Theme 4: Care instructions
...
99Concept 1 : Importance
...
99Concept 2: Special information
...
100Theme 5: Name of the manufacturer
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100Concept 1 : The manufacturer
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100Concept 2: Brand name as identification of the product
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100Concept 3: Brand name as symbol of status
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100Objective 3: The influence a label has on consumers' purchasing behaviour
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100Theme 1: Information provided on the textile label
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101Concept 1 : Size
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101Concept 2: Fibre content
...
101. .
Concept 3: Country of ongm...
101Concept 4: Care instructions
...
102Concept 5: Brand name
...
102Limitations ... 102
Conclusions
...
-102Recommendations for action
...
103Recommendations for hrther study
...
103LIST
OF
FIGURES
...
Figure 1 Conceptual framework 5
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Figure 2 Influences and determinants of consumer behaviour 14
...
Figure 3 Components of attitudes 18
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Figure 4 An overview of the perceptual process 19
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Figure 5 Information processing for consumer decision-making 20...
Figure 6 An overview of the motivation process 21
...
Figure 7 Relationship between learning and memory 22
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Figure 8 Characteristics of a true brand 31
...
LIST OF TABLES
...
Table I Author's contributions 8
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Table 2 Basic labelling care symbols and instruction they represent 28
...
Table 3 Key Federal Laws affecting the fashion industry 30
LIST OF ANNEXURE
Annexure A
.
Letter to the textile product shop managers...
108 Annexure B . Invitation to the focus group discussions...
109...
Annexure C
.
The consent form 1 10Annexure D
.
Focus group discussion questions ... 1 Annexure E.
Thank you note to the participants (accompanying remuneration)...
1LIST OF ABREVIATIONS
AATCC:
FTC
:I S 0
:ITS
:R N :
SABS
:SANS
:WPL:
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF TEXTILE CHEMISTS
AND COLOURISTS
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION OF STANDARDS
INTERTEK TESTING SERVICES
REGISTRATION NUMBER
SOUTH AFRICAN BUREAU OF STANDARDS
SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL STANDARDS
STANDARDS SOUTH AFRICA
WOOL PRODUCT LABELLING
CHAPTER 1
A SOUTH AFRICAN STUDY OF CONSUMERS' PERCEPTIONS OF TEXTILE PRODUCT LABELS AND THEIR
CONSEQUENT BEHAVIOUR INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background and setting
The people in South Africa are consumers of textile products, such as clothes, bedding, towels, and table linen. In purchasing these items, a person goes through a decision making process. The consumer must first decide whether to buy or not to buy, secondly which one of the many on the market to buy, thirdly which shop to buy from, and lastly how much he or she is willing to pay (Solomon, 2004:352).
A consumer in the context of the study is a person who makes use of textile products and services. The processes involved in consumption include identifying a need or desire to make a purchase, using the purchased products or services and disposing of them when they are no longer needed. Consumption of these goods and services happens in two ways. It can either happen at a personal level, in which case an individual buys goods or services for personal consumption (for instance a person who buys an apparel item), or at an organisational level, e.g. an institution such as a school, a church, or a manufacturing firm. The intention to benefit from a product purchased (Rice, 1993:94; Hawkins, et al.,
1998:132). An example would be a guesthouse manager purchasing linen for the guest house.
With the knowledge of levels of consumption explained above, it is necessary to conduct studies that will be applicable and appropriate to the South African consumers. As Blackwell et al. (2001:ll) put it, consumers are like fingerprints, and no two are exactly
identical. In addition, the consumer today is by far different from the consumer ten years ago. According to Windham and Orton (2000:2), many consumers with old ways of doing things have become new consumers and, in doing so, have transformed into more powerful beings. Their strength is noticed by the easy access to countless information sources, innumerable products and services, and greatly extended communities the new consumer has.
Windham and Orton (2000:4) argue that this has put the new consumer in an unprecedented position of control. The new consumer knows more, has more choices, and can act with fewer logistical constraints than ever before. It will be pointless, therefore, to ignore the fact that consumers want to have control over their purchases.
The views and perceptions of consumers affect consumer behaviour directly (Blackwell et
al., 2001:7; Engel et al., 1995:108; Solomon, 2004:74). The behaviour is directly
dependent on internal influences which each individual human being is subjected to (Solomon, 2004:70). Such influences will include perceptions, personality, emotions, motivation, learning, memory and attitudes. These factors influencing the consumer's behaviour are dealt with in this study. There is, however, a set of external factors that also influences consumer behaviour. Included in the latter would be culture, subcultures, reference groups, family, demographics, changing gender roles, social and economic status and marketing strategy. These factors will not be dealt with in this study
Perception, which is the main focus of this study, is the process of organising and interpreting sensations into meaningful experiences. It is the actual result of the psychological processes in which meaning, context, past experiences and memories are involved (Mischel, 1999:5; Mowen & Minor, 2004:98; Schiffman, 2001 :5 18; Solomon, 2004:49). The sensations from which perceptions will be formed are, among others, from a textile product label. The consumer sees, reads and feels the label on a textile product, and conclusions about the label and products are drawn, thus perceptions are formed.
The label attached to the textile product is the first communication between the retailer or manufacturer and the consumer (Cooklin, 1997:116). It therefore contains some information that helps the consumer to make decisions on whether to buy or not to buy the product displayed on the shelf. According to Kadolph (1998:150), labels which are sewn on or hang-tags on articles give information on the total make up of the particular item and how it has to be taken care of, just like an operation manual. In some cases it will appear on the packaging, if the products are sold in packaging (Drew, 1992:45). Because labels are informative, they play an important role in the maintenance of the textile products.
The type of information found on the labels, which information is mandatory and which is voluntary, are issues of concern on textile products. According to Brown & Rice
(1 998: 18- 19), Oehlke (2002:58) and Stone (1 999: 138), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States of America regulates the information given on the textile article labels. In South Africa, as stated by McCleary (2004) during personal communication, the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) regulates the textile and many other labels, to ensure that the standards are met.
Brown & Rice (1 998: 19); Drew (1 992:43); Kadolph (1 998: 149), and Stone (1 999: l58), all agree that a textile product label must supply information about the textile fibre content of the fabric used, country of origin and care instructions as mandatory information. Kadolph (1 998:97) added that voluntary information that promotes the manufacturer or marketer, as well as such information as size, style and colour, which helps consumers to make a choice, is also allowed.
With all the information found on each product, it is not easy to confirm the use of all of it by the consumer. Exploring the views and perceptions of consumers about the textile product labelling will enlighten that aspect (Wright, 1997:418). There are many new products reaching the supermarkets at one time; it has been estimated that 1 000 new products reach the British supermarkets each month, hence the need for effective labelling to enable selection (Anon, 1995: 19). No estimates for South Africa could be found at the time of the literature search, but the above estimate gives an idea of the kind of confusion the consumers have to deal with.
Most of the new products generally are made in South Africa. They are displayed on the supermarket shelves, all competing for consumers' selection. Some consumers, as Solomon and Rabolt (2004:352) state, make decisions in the store as they purchase. Wright (1997:417) also informs that the only source of information a consumer has about the product at the point of sale is the label. The question that remains now is whether the information on the label is sufficient, relevant, clear, easy to understand and important to the consumer.
1.2 The problem statement
South African consumers regularly purchase textile products and encounter various problems during use. Consumers sometimes become disappointed with these products
after use because they perform differently than expected by, for example, losing shape and/or fading after a few laundering sessions.
It may happen, as Molefe, (2004) informed the researcher during personal communication, that consumers return the garments and request a refund. Against this background, it must be kept in mind that there are information labels on the products to assist the consumers in making informed choices, but to which extent do consumers use these labels?
Many questions can be asked regarding textile labels, such as: What information appears on the labels? Is it valuable to the consumers? Do the consumers even read these labels? Do they use the information on the labels to make a decision to purchase or not to purchase a garment? Generally, are these labels necessary from the consumers' perspective? Is there need for any improvement on the way labels are designed, made, and inserted or positioned in the textile articles? What about the care labelling symbols used on the labels, do all the textile product consumers in South Africa know the meaning of all the symbols?
Here is a relevant example that would be clear. Recently the slogan "Proudly South African", also applicable to textile products, was introduced to the market. Textile products labelled "Proudly South African" probably have influenced the perceptions and awareness of the South African textile consumer about labels, but has this been investigated before they were put on the market? One wonders if the slogan "Proudly South African" makes the perception of these products any different from that of other textile products made in other countries but sold in South Africa. All these questions show a deficiency in knowledge about the South African consumer's perceptions and behaviour regarding textile product labels.
New products are introduced into the market time and again. This can make it difficult for consumers to decide on what to buy. The extensive research done on the American and the European consumer's perception and behaviour is not representative of the consumers from other parts of the world (Blackwell et al., 2001:32). The information is not applicable in South Africa. This poses a problem of marketing strategies that may not be exactly directed to the South African consumer. It is therefore necessary to study the South African consumers' views and perceptions on textile labelling.
1.3 Objectives of the study
Having identified the problem and searched through literature, the following objectives were set for the study:
+
To determine South African consumers' awareness about textile product labelling+
To explore the consumers' perceptions of textile labels+
To determine the extent to which the consumers use the information on the textile product labels when making purchasing decisions1.4 The conceptual framework
The conceptual framework in Figure 1 illustrates the totality of the study, depicting areas of interest and the interrelationships among the areas. As can be observed from Figure 1; textile consumers' behaviour is influenced by the external and internal factors, some of which are stipulated below. The textile label is the stimulus of concern here as it is the consumers' awareness of and perceptions about it that are unknown. The arrows indicate the relationships among the factors contributing to the ultimate purchasing behaviour of a consumer. The major components of the framework are the following:
@ The consumer may be consuming textile goods and services as an individual or on behalf of an institution such as a school, company, church or community.
'kl
Textile product labelling happens to be the stimulus of interest for the purpose of the study, and is a source of information which can be used during alternative evaluation.Consumer behaviour is influenced by external factors and internal factors. This happens after a process of decision making.
@ The information, meaning and past experiences influence consumer perceptions on textile labelling.
Sees & reads CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ULTIMATE PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR
Figure 1. Conceptual framework (developed by researcher from the literature and the
research objectives)
1.5 Contextual definitions of terms
Following are definitions of key concepts, used within the context of the study.
Awareness: A state of knowing something well enough to identify and explain it in
appropriate terms (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2004:531-2).
6
---Consumer: A person or organisation that identifies a need or desire, makes a purchase, uses the product or service and then disposes of the product (Solomon, 200423).
Consumer behaviour: A decision process and physical activity individuals engage in when
evaluating, acquiring, using or disposing of goods and services. (Blackwell et al., 2001 :6;
Du Plessis & Rousseau, 2003:lO; Loudon & Della Bitta, 1993:342; Solomon, 2004:9).
Consuming: How, where, when and under what circumstances consumers use products
and services (Blackwell et al., 2001:6).
Label: In the context of this study, a textile product label is an extra piece of fabric
attached to the textile product. This label is made of fabric which differs in type, colour and texture from that of the product on to which it is attached. The label conveys valuable information to the consumer and the ultimate caretaker of the product. The information includes care instructions, fibre content, country of origin, brand name or trademark, size and sometimes colour.
Perception: The process of organising and interpreting sensation into meaningful
experiences. It is a result of psychological processes in which meaning, context, judgement, past experiences and memories are involved (Solomon, 2004:49; Schiffman, 2001 :5 18; Mischel, 19995).
Perceptual set: Readiness to make a particular response or a class of responses to
particular organisations of stimuli. It may be established by the prior conditions of exposure (Schiffman, 2001 :5 18).
Textile product: For the purpose of this study the term refers to all the products made from
textiles, for example clothing items, towels, bed linen, table linen and some window treatments like curtains.
1.6 Strategy
The study was qualitative and descriptive in nature. Data were collected by using focus group discussions, from which extensive information was gathered. Consumers were purposefully recruited from the shops as they purchased their textile products and further selected to form the discussion groups.
Only consumers who purchased or searched for textile products only were recruited. The researcher conducted the discussions, using questions adopted from literature and developed through piloting. During the discussions, a tape recorder was used with the consent of the participating consumers to capture the proceedings of the discussions. First the recordings were transcribed verbatim, and then cleaned, to remove filler words and to elaborate explanations that did not necessarily respond to the questions asked. Data were then analysed into categories and themes responding to the set objectives of the study. The use of purposive sampling, pre-piloting and piloting the instrument as well as using the literature as control, all contributed to ensure trustworthiness of the study.
1.7 Chapter layout
The mini-dissertation comprises of five chapters. The first chapter gives the background information, problem statement, motivation, objectives, significance and limitations of the study. The second chapter comprises of the relevant literature reviewed for purposes of the study. This chapter serves as a literature control, contributing towards the trustworthiness of the study. The third chapter focuses on the methodology followed in conducting the study as well as reasons for the selection of methods used. The fourth chapter addresses the results and discussions of the data collected, using methods stated in chapter three. Chapter five presents the summary, conclusions and recommendations made by the researcher upon completion of the study. As well as the article about the study.
1.8 Significance of the study
As stated in the objectives, the study will make known the views and perceptions of textile consumers about textile labelling. These will include the expectations of the consumers in as far as desirable labels are concerned. In doing so, it will also identify the types of labels in South Africa on textile products, the weaknesses of textile labelling as seen by the consumers and the discomfort and comfort brought about by the labels on their garments.
The study will also exploit information that will be helpful to the government legislative body responsible for drafting the South African Textile Labelling Act.
The study also intends to be of assistance to manufacturers in the textile industry in South Africa, to instil awareness regarding the design and placement of labels, as well as information appearing on them. This might even give South African manufacturers some ideas about marketing their textile products through appealing labels.
When this study has been completed, the industry, educators and students in the field of textiles and associated disciplines as well as textile consumers will have access to the information to refer to. Knowledge of views and perceptions of the South African consumers regarding textile labelling will be available. On a similar note of professionalism it will open room for further research in the field of textiles and their consumption. Planning for consumer education will be made easier by the basic understanding of the consumer as researched by this study.
1.9 Contribution of article authors
The study was planned and implemented by a team of researchers, working together towards the same set of objectives stated in a previous paragraph of this chapter. The contribution of individual researchers is given in Table 1 :
Table #1
Authors' contribution to the article
Ms M. Larney
Ms M.D. Venter Dr E.L. Kempen
Contribution to the study and article
First author, searched for and reviewed literature, gathered, interpreted and analysed the data, prepared and did the writing-up of the mini-dissertation.
Supervised the whole study and the activities of the first author.
Co-supervisor.
Project leader; organised sponsorship to make it possible for the study to happen. Also acted as an overseer for the whole process.
The statement below is from the co-authors of the article, confirming their individual roles in the study. The statement also grants permission for the article to form part of the mini dissertation:
I declare that I have approved the above-mentioned article, and that my role in the study,
as stated above, is representative of my actual contribution and that I hereby give my
consent that it may be published as part of the Masters' mini-dissertation of Mrs P.
Mokobori.
Papali Maqalika-Mokobori Mrs M. Larney
--- Mrs M.D Venter
- -
REFERENCES
ANON. 1995. The financial analysis. Britain. British financial times.
BLACKWELL, R. D., MNIARD, P. W. & ENGEL, J. F. 2001. Consumer behaviour. 9th ed. New York : Harcourt.
BROWN, P. & RICE, J. 1998. Ready to wear apparel analysis. 2"d ed. Upper Saddle
River, NJ : Merrill.
COOKLN, G. 1997. Garment technology for fashion designers. Tokyo, Japan
Blackwell Science.
DREW, L. 1992. The business of fashion. Cambridge, United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press.
DU PLESSIS, P. J. & ROUSSEAU, G.G. 2003. Buyer behaviour: a multicultural
approach. 3rd ed. Cape Town, South Africa : Oxford University Press.
ENGEL, J. F., BLACKWELL, R. D. & MINIARD, P. W. 1995. Consumer behaviour:
international edition. New York : Dryden Press.
HAWKINS, D. I., BEST, R. J. & CONEY, K. A. 1998. Consumer behaviour: building
marketing strategy. Boston, MA : McGraw-Hill.
KADOLPH, S. J. 1998. Quality assurance for textiles and apparel. New York : Fairchild Publications.
LOUDON, D. L. & DELLA BITTA, A. J. 1993. Consumer behaviour: concepts and
application. Singapore : McGraw-Hill.
McCLEARY, E. 2004. Verbal communication with the author. Pretoria, (South African Bureau of Standards).
MISCHEL, W. 1999. Introduction to personality. 6th ed. Fort Worth : Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
MOLEFE, D. T. 2004. Verbal communication with the author. Potchefstroom, South Africa.
MOWEN, J. C. & MINOR, M. S. 2004. Consumer behaviour: a framework. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
OEHLKE, N. 2002. The quirks of care labelling. American dry-cleaner, 69(8):70, Nov.
RICE, C. 1993. Consumer behaviour: behavioural aspects of marketing. Oxford : Butterworth-Heineman.
SCHIFFMAN, H. R. 2001. Sensation and perception: an integrated approach. 5' ed. New York : Wiley.
SCHIFFMAN, L. G. & KANUK, L. L. 2004. Consumer behaviour. gth ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ. : Prentice Hall.
SOLOMON, M. R. 2004. Consumer behaviour: buying, having and being. 6th ed. Upper Saddle-River, NJ : Pearson.
SOLOMON, M. R. & RABOLT, N. J. 2004. Consumer behaviour in fashion. Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall.
STONE, E. 1999. Dynamics of fashion. New York : Fairchild.
WINDHAM, L. & ORTON, K. 2000. The soul of the new consumer: the attitudes, behaviour and preferences of e-consumers. New York : Allworth Press.
WRIGHT, L. T. 1997. Exploring the need extended research: an investigation of consumer attitudes to product labelling. Journal of product & brand management, 6(6): 41 7-427.
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This chapter consists of the relevant literature that was reviewed and was divided into two sub-sections. The two sub-sections are consumer behaviour and the concept of labelling. The section that looks at consumer behaviour gives definitions by several authors, the internal determinants of consumer behaviour are reviewed extensively to give the reader an understanding of the origin of the behaviour displayed by the consumer. The second section looks closely at the concepts underlying the textile product labels.
Literature section 1: Consumer behaviour and the decision-making process
2.2 Consumer behaviour
As viewed by Wilkie (1994:127) consumer behaviour is about people, what people purchase and why people purchase the way they do. It is about marketing, how products and services are designed for and sold to consumers in the market place. It is also about the consumer market place itself, in which billions of purchases occur each year, in millions of marketing outlets. Blackwell et al. (2001:6), Du Plessis and Rousseau
(2003: 10) and Wilkie (1 994: 128) agree that consumer behaviour by definition is a mental, emotional and physical activity that people engage in when selecting, purchasing, using and disposing of products and services so as to satisfy needs and desires. Loudon & Della Bitta (1993:247) added the evaluation process to the list of activities consumer behaviour entails. Du Plessis and Rousseau (2003: 10) strengthened the definition above by adding that all these activities are done to satisfy needs.
An umbrella definition of consumer behaviour that would accommodate the similarities, minimise the differences and be justified in terms of comprehensiveness would be as follows: Consumer behaviour comprises the mental and physical activities (behaviour patterns) of decision units (individuals as well as families), which precede, determine and follow on the decision process for the acquisition of need-satisfying products, ideas and services (Du Plessis & Rousseau, 2003: 10; Engel et al., l995:78).
Du Plessis and Rousseau (2003:ll) concur with the other authors but add that consumer behaviour includes the decision process that precedes and follows these purchase actions. In continuation, Engel et al. (1995:78) further qualifies consumer behaviour as being of
particular interest to those who desire to influence or change that behaviour, including whose primary concern is marketing, consumer education and protection, and public policy.
Consumer behaviour does not merely happen. It is a process influenced directly by some internal and external factors. According to Blackwell et al. (2001:23), Du Plessis and
Rousseau (2003: 13), Mowen and Minor (2004: 1 23), Solomon (2004: 17) and Wilkie (1994:214) consumer behaviour is influenced by external factors as well as internal factors. Some internal factors are personality, attitudes, perceptions, motivation and emotions, to mention but a few, while the external factors that influence behaviour include culture, sub-cultures, social and economic status. For purposes of this study, the focus will be on the internal factors, specifically perceptions. Figure 2 shows both the internal and external influences accompanying consumer behaviour. The relationships between the factors are also depicted in the diagram by means of arrows.
Environmental/Externa I Influences o Culture o Subcultures o Social/reference groups o Family
o Social & economic status o Marketing activities o Changing gender roles Demographics IndividuaIlInternal Influences o Personality and self- concept o Attitudes o Perceptions o Motivation and involvement o Memory o Learning DEmotions o Changing attitudes
r---
---Purchase process
I
Post purchasing behaviour---Figure 2: Influences on consumer behaviour (developed by researcher from Blackwell
et al., 2001:23; Solomon, 2004:17; & Wilkie, 1994:124)
15
--2.2.1 Internal factors which influence consumer behaviour
This part of the chapter deals basically with the internal factors determining consumer behaviour. These factors are internal because they give the researcher an insight into the consumers' internal world. As Hayes (2000:8) explains, the phenomenological approach used in this study catches the meaning of social events, looking through the eyes of the people actively involved. The internal factors include personalitylself-concept, attitudes, perceptions, motivation-involvement, memory-learning, emotions and changing attitudes. Emotions and changing attitudes will not be discussed for the purposes of this study.
2.2.1.1 Personality and self-concept
According to Mischel (1999:4) personality is the ability to elicit positive reactions from other people in one's typical dealings with them. Mischel goes on to say that personality has popularly been equated with social skill and effectiveness. Solomon (2OO4:188), however, noted that personality refers to a person's unique psychological makeup and how it consistently influences the way a person responds to his or her environment.
Mowen and Minor (2001:lOO) explained that the word personality comes from a Latin word "persona" which means "actor's face mask". Like a mask, personality is worn as a person moves from one situation to another in a lifetime. Sigmund Freud developed the idea that much of one's adult personality stems from a fundamental conflict between a person's desire to gratify his or her physical need and the necessity to function as a responsible member of society (Solomon, 2004: 188). However, less specifically, Mischel (1999:4) noted that personality might be taken to be an individual's most striking or dominant characteristic. In this sense a person may be said to have a "shy personality" or a "neurotic personality", meaning that his or her dominant attributes appear to be shyness or neurosis.
Personality, as deduced from the previous definitions, can be seen in the behaviour one displays in his or her actions. The actions one engages in are most of the time influenced by the self-concept one has. Mowen and Minor (2001: 109) explained that because people have a need to behave consistently with their self-concept, this perception of themselves forms part of the basis of personality.
This is so because consumers can maintain their self-esteem and gain predictability in interactions with others by acting in a manner consistent with their self-concept. This then characterises personality, meaning the self-concept one has, and the self-esteem one maintains, both contribute to one's personality.
Solomon (2004:150) defines self-concept as the beliefs a person holds about his or her own attributes, and how he or she evaluates these qualities, while self-esteem is defined as the positivism of a person's self-concept. Mowen and Minor (2004:lOO) agree with the two definitions and only add that the self-concept includes the totality of the individual's thoughts and feelings with reference to himselfkerself as an object. Solomon (2004: 15 1) clarifies that people with low self-esteem expect that they will not perform very well, and they try to avoid embarrassment, failure or rejection.
The relationship between personality, beliefs, values and attitudes as seen by Webb (2002: 145) is such that values and beliefs exercise a direct influence on one's personality. Webb (2002:145) and Rice (1993:87) agree that the values and beliefs develop into attitudes later.
2.2.1.2 Attitudes and consumer behaviour
Loudon and Della Bitta (1 993: 176) define attitudes in four ways:
How positive or negative, favourable or unfavourable a person feels towards an object. In other words, the feeling one gets after evaluation of objects in general.
Learned predisposition to respond to an object or class of objects in a consistently favourable or unfavourable way. This incorporates notions of readiness to respond towards an object.
An enduring organisation of a motivational, emotional, perceptual and cognitive process with respect to some aspect of the individual's world. They view attitude as being made up of three components, namely
1) the cognitive/knowledge, 2) the affective or emotional, and
. Attitudes are multidimensional in nature. A person's overall attitude toward an object is seen to be a function of the strength of each of a number of beliefs the person holds about various aspects of the object, as well as the evaluation he gives to each belief as it relates to the object. A belief is the probability a person attaches to a piece of knowledge being true.
Aaker et ai. (2001:128) define attitudes as a 'mental state used by individuals to structure the way they perceive their environment and guide the way they respond to it'. Wilkie (1994: 159) defines attitudes as learned predispositions to respond to an object or class of objects in a consistently favourable or unfavourable way. Wilkie (1994:159) argues that the word attitude is derived from Latin words for "posture" or "physical position". The general notion was that the body's physical attitude suggests the type of action in which a person would engage. A summary of the meaning above is illustrated schematically in Figure 3 which shows the components of attitude.
Affective component Feelings
!
Cognitive component Beliefslknowledge Conative component Behavioural tendencyFigure 3: Components of attitudes (developedfrom Rice 1994:12-15)
In his review of other authors' definitions, Webb (2002: 140) concludes that there are as many definitions of attitudes as there are attitudes themselves. But interestingly all seemingly agree that it is a mental state of readiness, a way an individual structures his/her own particular world, organised through experience, such that when confronted with a certain stimuli he/she can act in a certain manner.
18
--The relationship between consumer attitude and consumer behaviour is generally positive, but is often not as strong as one might expect (Wilkie, 1994:160). Webb (2002:128) argues that attitudes are not generally held to be the only cause of human behaviour. Behaviour is the end result of a very complex interchange between factors both internal and external to that person whose behaviour is under investigation. Although attitudes are constituents of the internal factors, they are conditioned through external experience. The gathering of that experience is not a random process, but it is organised through a process known as learning.
Rice (1993:127) explains that attitudes are related to a person's behaviour that is part of the individual's perceptual world. Rice (1993:128) argues that they represent our basic orientation towards the given stimulus and as such form an important part of the way in which people perceive and react to their environments. It is commonly held that attitudes are "leading variables" to behaviour. This means that attitude change pre-dates and predicts behaviour. In addition to that people indulge in a particular behaviour that leads to outcomes that have form their attitudes. The combination is usually represented by the
illustration shown below:
-
Attitude
-
<
Behaviour(Rice, 1993:88)
Attitudes are important to consumers because they perform several functions. These functions include helping the consumer to adapt to the market place, and the ego defence function which protects the consumers from injury to their self-identities. Other functions are the expressive function which enables the consumers to express their personal values in behaviour, and the knowledge or appraisal function which actually helps the consumer to organise their knowledge about the market place (Rice, 1993:92).
2.2.1.3 Consumer perceptions
Attitudes are formed from perceptions. By definition perception is a process of sensing, selecting and interpreting consumer stimuli in the external world (Solomon, 2004:290; Wilkie, 1994: 163). It is concerned with the translation from the external physical world to the internal mental world that each of us actually experiences. The five human organs, i.e. eyes, ears, mouth, nose and skin serve as the sensory receptors receiving input from the environment (Wilkie, 1994: 163).
Du Plessis and Rousseau (2003:9) do not differ in opinion from other authors as they define perception as the process by which an individual observes, selects, organises and reacts to environmental stimuli in a meaningful way. As seen by Hawkins et al. (1998:290) perception is a critical activity that links the individual consumer to a group, situation, and marketer influences. Hawkins et al. (1998:290) argue that a sound knowledge of perceptions is essential in marketing to avoid problems when communicating with various target audiences. Solomon (2004:78) agrees with the other authors by the illustration in Figure 4 which gives an overview of the perceptual process:
Sensation
Attention
I Meaning
Figure 4: An overview of the perceptual process (Solomon 2004:79)
Solomon and Rabolt (2004:290) add that the process of perception ends in interpretation. Perceptions are influenced by a number of dynamic and changing factors, singly or in combination, and either when the stimulus occurs or when reaction is required. Many variables will affect perception. Some of the most important ones in the process are portrayed in another model of perception and the variables include impulse, observation, selection, organisation and reaction (Du Plessis & Rousseau, 2003:218).
Hawkins et al. (1998:291) emphasise that perceptions are part of information processing. Information processing involves a series of activities by which stimuli are perceived, transformed into information and stored in a consumer's mind. Figure 5 illustrates an information-processing model having four major stages, i.e. exposure, attention, interpretation, and memory. The first three constitute perception.
20
--Exposure occurs when a stimulus such as a billboard comes within a range of a person's sensoryreceptornerves- vision,for example.Attentionoccurswhen the receptornerves pass the sensation on to the brain for processing. Interpretation is the assignment of meaning to the received sensations. As it can be observed in Figure 5, memory is the short-term use of the meaning for immediate decision making or the longer-term retention of the meaning (Hawkins et ai., 1998:290).
Figure 5: Information processing for consumer decision making. (Hawkins et at., 1998:293)
According to Solomon and Rabolt (2004:290) the study of perception focuses on what we add or take away from the raw sensations as we choose which ones to notice, and then go about assigning meaning to them. The consumers see the entire collection of textile products on the market but decide to buy some after assigning meaning to them to make decisions. In the study of perception there are several ways to look at the construct.There
--21 - --- - --Exposure
-.. Random ---Deliberate Attention Low High Involvement Involvement
!
Interpretation -Low High ... Involvement InvolvementShort-term Memory Long-term
I I
Active problem:. I Stored ....
-expenences II
Solving III values, decision, I
Rules, feelings
are, however, some outstanding overlaps of these categories, i.e. object perception, person perception and physical perception.
Perceptual set as defined by Wilkie (1994:144) is the readiness to perceive or act in a particular way in a given situation. Engel et ai. (1995: 198) use the expression perceptual set interchangeably with expectation. They, however, notify that comprehension will depend on prior conceptions of what we are likely to see. In their study Engel et ai. (1995: 199) report that in tasting and rating labelled and unlabelled beer, participants rated all the unlabelled products the same, simply because they had no expectations regarding the taste. The expectation created by the brand label was powerful enough to alter consumers' perceptions of the products (Engel et ai., 1995:199; Solomon, 2004:82).
2.2.1.4 Motivation
Blackwell et ai. (2001:238) note that to be in a position to answer a question like "Why do people buy the things that they buy?" one requires an understanding of consumer motivation. Consumer motivation represents the drive to satisfy both the physiological and the psychological needs through product purchase and consumption (Blackwell et ai., 2001:242; Solomon, 2004:114-115). According to Solomon (2004:115) motivation occurs when a need that a consumer wishes to satisfy is aroused. Once the need has been activated, a state of tension exists that drives the consumer to attempt to reduce or eliminate the need. Figure 6 elaborates on the process of motivation and the relationship between all other processes involved in it. The recognition of needs is actually the first part of the decision process shown in Figure 2 referred to as "problem recognition".
NEED
RECOGNITION
~haVi~
Tension Reduction
Figure 6: An overview of the motivation process (Blackwelletat., 2001:239)
There are different types of needs that a consumer has to satisfy in his or her entire life. In addressing these needs Maslow arranged them in a hierarchy to indicate the relationship among the different types of needs. The achievement of one need makes way for the recognition of a new higher-level type of need. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is famously presented in a pyramid to indicate that a certain type of need must be fulfilled before one can think of fulfilling others in a higher level. (Blackwell et al., 2001 :238).
Solomon (2004:116) interpreted Maslow's hierarchy of needs and made an observation that important needs to the consumer relevant to the studies of consumer behaviour include, inter alia, the following: Need for affiliation to be in the company of other people. This need is relevant to products and services that are consumed in groups and alleviate loneliness, such as team sports, bars, and shopping malls. Need for power to control one's environment. Many products and services allow consumers to feel that they have mastery over their surroundings, ranging from "hopped-up" muscle cars and loud boom boxes (large portable radios) to hotels, restaurants, and resorts that promise to respond to the consumer's every whim. Need for uniqueness to assert one's individual identity. Products that pledge to accentuate a consumer's distinctive qualities satisfy this need. For example, Cachet perfumes claim to be "as individual as you are".
2.2.1.5 Learning and memory
Even though learning and memory are two separate factors that affect consumer behaviour individually, they are discussed together here due to the relationship they have with each other. Memory, as can be observed in Figure 7, is a result of learning. It can also happen
that a learning process taps information from the memory storages. For this reason memory plays an important role in a learning process.
Figure 7: The relationship between learning and memory. Derived from Hawkins et
aL (1998:343) 1 Internal and External stimuli
-
Information Processing-
B. L bd
L Memory-
Learning-
wMost consumer behaviour is learned behaviour. The majority of values, tastes, behaviour, preferences and feelings are accumulated over time through a learning process. The extrinsic components of consumer behaviour, such as culture, family and small group membership, provide learning experiences which have an impact on the type of life-style one pursues and the products and services that are consumed (Du Plessis & Rousseau, 2003:269).
Wilkie (1 994: 143) defines learning as a relatively permanent change in behaviour, feelings and one's way of thinking. This change is actually due to the effects of information and experience. Educationists, however, see it as a process of acquiring new knowledge that is expected to bring a change in behaviour of the learner (Seale, 1999: 104). In advertising, the type of learning that takes place in most of the cases is observational learning, as advertisements are mostly visual. Observational learning occurs when people watch the actions of others and note the reinforcement they receive for their behaviour (Solomon, 2004:93). A learning process that involves attention, retention, product processes and motivation will result in observational learning.
According to Du Plessis and Rousseau (2003:256) learning results from information processing and the changes in memory are caused by the process as illustrated in Figure 7. In supporting the statement about relationship between learning and memory, Du Plessis and Rousseau (2003:268) asserts that memory is the total accumulation of prior learning experiences and comprises short-term and long-term memory.
From the explanation above the following can be deduced: Learning is a process. It constantly develops and changes as a result of newly gained knowledge or experience. The newly acquired knowledge and experience serve the consumers, and are the foundation upon which they will base their behaviour in similar situations in the future. This is what makes learning different from instinctive behaviour.
Hawkins et al. (1998:345) define memory as total accumulation of prior learning
experiences. Solomon (2004:98) argue that during the consumer's decision-making process, the internal memory is combined with the external memory. In other words, all the product details on the packages, in shopping lists, and other marketing stimuli are stored in the memory to permit brand alternatives to be identified and evaluated. Memory
is the short-term use of the meaning for immediate decision-making or the longer-term retention of the meaning (Hawkins et al., 1998:346).
2.2.1.6 Decision making
Buying and consumer decision-making processes are complicated as a result of external influences that have to be handled within an internal frame of reference that has come about through consumer socialization (that may behave been restricted) (Fellman, l999:205). Sproles and Burns (1 994: 158) illustrate that different sources of information are used at different stages of the adoption process. The stages are awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, purchase action and post purchase behaviour (Gilbert, 1999:98; Sproles
& Burns, 1994: 156).
To illustrate the importance of consumer perceptions and purchasing behaviour, Chen-Yu and Kincade (2000: 13) emphasise that the success in apparel business cannot only depend on either store image or brand name but the consumers' overall perception towards the product determines their purchase behaviour.
In their study that assessed the effects of product image at three stages of consumers' decision-making process for purchasing apparel products, Chin-Yu and Kincade (2000: 13) concluded that a good product image alone cannot determine a consumer's purchase decisions. In addition to developing the product image, marketers must understand that other characteristics like style, fabric, quality and fibre content can have an impact on their target customers' purchase decisions. The characteristics mentioned above are some of those listed by various authors (Kadolph, 1998: 152; Brown & Rice, 1998: 19; Hatch, 1993:144; Drew, 1992:43) as those about which information should be provided in a textile product label.
2.3 Literature section 2: The concept of textile labelling
A textile product label in the context of this study refers to the extra piece of fabric attached to the textile products. This piece is usually made of a different material in colour and fibre content. The major purpose of this label is to give information about the product. Such information will include the care instructions, fibre content, size of the product, country of origin and the brand name.
From reviewed literature, Cooklin (1997: 117) states that labels are of great benefit to the wearer. An important aspect of finishing garments is to ensure that correct labels are in the right position.
Regarding the legality of the existence of labels in textile products, Costantino (1998:41) noted that in terms of labelling, the standards for consumer information and protection in the United Kingdom are largely government-imposed. Costantino (1 998:4l) further added that in accordance with the European Union (EU) directives, a composition labelling which gives information about the fibre content is made compulsory by law. This means that all textile products in the EU must have information about the fibre composition.
The information on a typical textile label should include the information about the fibre content of the fabric used to make up the product, the country of origin, care instructions and name or registration number (RN) of the manufacturer (Brown & Rice, 1998:19; Cooklin, 1997: 1 17; Drew, l992:44; Hatch, 1993: 142; Kadolph, 1998: 150). Kadolph (1998:151) states that the federal law and regulation in the United States of America (USA) require the mentioned information on the label, but other information such as size, price, colour, certification, brand name and claims about the product's performance is voluntary. This information may actually promote the manufacturer and retailer. Brown &
Rice (1998:19) add that this voluntary information is also designed to help the consumer in selecting an appropriate product.
According to Cooklin (1997: 1 18) size labels must be suitable for the country or countries where the garments are going to be sold. Cooklin (1997: 1 18) goes on to say that it would be pointless to export garments carrying the British sizing system labels to a country using a totally different sizing nomenclature. This information is regarded as voluntary and it is provided to assist the consumer in the decision-making process for purchasing. The International Organisation of Standards also subscribes to the laws indicating the information that goes onto the labels. The details of information to include on the textile product labels as required by the law in most countries are given in the paragraphs that follow.
